Baltic Pride supporters ‘occupied’ Vilnius Mayor’s courtyard

On Saturday afternoon a few supporters of sexual minorities march, who consider Vilnius city municipality to be their main opponent, showed up at the capital mayor Zuokas’ yard, writes www.delfi.lt.

The mayor has become somewhat a symbol of the marches’ prohibition.

The activists decided to wave the flags under the mayor’s window and hold a mini parade in his yard as it was exactly the message they had taken out of the politician’s public statement.

“If that helps to solve the conflict in any way, I gladly invite you not only to stop by my house, but enter my yard as well,” wrote Vilnius mayor Zuokas on his public Facebook page.

Zuokas’ message on Facebook was addressed to the Lithuanian Gay League’s leader Vladimiras Simonko, who earlier expressed his disappointment with the decision of the municipality to ban sexual minorities from organising the gay pride march down the Gediminas Avenue.

DELFI, Photo by Š. Mažeika

Simonko also mentioned that on 27 July, if the approval is not authorised, small groups will be protesting in various places of the city, including the area around Zuokas’ house.

The chairman of the board of Tolerant Youth Association, Artūras Rudomanskis, told DELFI that the ‘guests’ were greeted by Zuokas’ son, mayor himself was not present then.

“We decided that there was no space for a demonstration in the mayor’s yard, but we would gladly accept the invitation to a party after the march,” said Rudomanskis.

The organisers of the march explained that the decision to respond to the mayor’s invitation was made on 29 June, when the anniversary of ‘Stonewall’ (breaking point in the LGBT movement, marking the beginning of the recognition of the equal rights and the forbearance from the lawful, political and social discrimination based on sexual orientation) is celebrated.

“On this occasion we want to test whether the state institutions will collapse or all the children become homosexual, if a couple of people passed by with rainbow flags,” ironically remarked the campaign’s organisers.